Some runaway Filipina housemaids are seen waiting in a shelter in Jeddah. — Archives Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – With Ramadan approaching a thriving black market for runaway Indonesian and Ethiopian maids has been created by unscrupulous brokers. The brokers are usually stationed in poor districts, at grocery stores and restaurants which sell traditional goods of these two communities. This is where the brokers conclude their deals. Most Saudi families are desperate to have extra help during Ramadan, so they hire maids at any cost. Indonesian maids now want SR2,000 and Ethiopian maids will not accept anything less than SR1,800. Ali Al-Qureshi, a member of the National Committee for Recruitment and member of the Recruitment Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said maids abandon their employers because they can get better salaries elsewhere during Ramadan. Also, many wedding halls close down in Ramadan and release their workers who are mostly Indonesians, Filipinas and Ethiopians. This creates a major opportunity for them to seek jobs elsewhere. He urged citizens not to employ these workers or accede to the demands of these brokers. He said they should report this illegal activity to the authorities. Abdul Rahman Bukhari said he was forced to hire an Indonesian maid from the beginning of Sha'aban to guarantee that she would continue working in Ramadan. He said he was stunned when she asked for a salary increase from SR1,500 to SR2,000 for Ramadan. He said he had to agree because his big family cannot do without her in Ramadan. Intisar Abdullah said she was desperate for a maid, she paid a broker SR200 to get her one for SR1,800. She said he needs someone to help her prepare meals for the family's guests during Ramadan. Saleh Al-Ghamdi said families are exploited this way because of the high cost of recruitment. He was forced to offer his maid SR2,000, apart from what he had to pay the broker. __
